Ayalew Mesfin

Hasabe (My Worries)

№ 62 February 2018

The first compilation of single releases by oppressed and wholly original Ethio-groove musician Ayalew Mesfin, Hasabe represents the first issue of presumably the last great, unheard catalog of ‘70s Ethiopian music. The music Mesfin created with his Black Lion Band is amongst the funkiest to arise from Addis Ababa; his recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7” singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia’s 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of the unconquerable East African nation. To date, only four of Ayalew Mesfin’s songs have been reissued, as part of Francis Falcetto’s Ethiopiques series: this is the first anthology of his music, and the first time he has involved himself in the process.

What’s included in this VMP Exclusive:

First Official Compilation of Ayalew’s Music

Sourced From Artist’s Personal Collection

Remastered by Dan Johnson, Head of Archiving at United Recording Studios